Page 86 of The Wedding Planner's Manny
Itwasa beautiful day. Blue skies, a warm breeze in the air that carried the scent of the sea with it.
The scent of the sea and the scent of avery pregnantomega. I eyed Rhys, who didn't seem the slightest bit frazzled by his condition. He had the hospital bag beside him and looked ready to go.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “When did the contractions start?”
“This morning actually, but I figured nothing important would happen until tonight only the contractions are coming faster and faster now so I called the hospital and they told me to come in.”
He clutched his belly as he said this, the first clue I had that he was at all uncomfortable—and that I should get into gear.
“C'mon, let's get you into the car and to the hospital. Nathan's watching Caleb?”
“Yeah, they'll be fine.” Rhys waddled to the car. “I left them with the number of the pizza delivery in case they get hungry and Griff's promised to come over later so they won't be alone after dark.”
“Okay.” I climbed into the car and jammed the key into the ignition. “You're amazing, you know? How calm you are. Laura was always shouting abuse at me from sun-up to sun-down once she hit the third trimester. Her pregnancies made her even more volatile than she usually was, and here you are, about to give birth and calmly organizing our day.”
Rhys shrugged as I started the car and took us onto the road. “I guess I'm just not worried. Not anymore. I was worried at thestartof this pregnancy.” He stopped speaking to take a breath when a contraction hit. “I had reasons to worry then because I was jobless and struggling to get a divorce and all that, but now I've got you and...” He inhaled again. “Things look much better than they used to.”
“That's touching, but aren't you worried about the birth at all?” This was my third time around, I was basically a veteran, and I felt a tendril of panic creeping up my spine when I thought about labor and delivery. There were so many things that could go wrong.
“I'm alittleworried,” Rhys admitted. “I try not to think about it, though. There’s... no point in worrying, is there?”
“Worry makes you prepare.”
“We're prepared.” A chuckle accompanied Rhys' words. “You've made sure of that. Now relax before you drive us in a ditch.”
“Wise words.” I tried to listen to my omega's advice. He was right, after all. Worry could lead not only to preparedness but also to reckless driving and I was going too far over the speed limit without even noticing it. Thanks to my partner's wisdom, though, we made it to the hospital in one piece. Well, two pieces, with a third about to emerge. Rhys' breathing had become more pained by the time we made it to the front desk, and he was wheeled off to labor and delivery almost immediately. As it turned out, he was pretty far along already. I could only wonder how long he'd weathered his contractions before finally telling Nathan to call me.
“There's something I need to tell you,” I started as he lay on a bed in labor & delivery and the nurse left the room to get the doctor. We had this short window of privacy before the show got started, and I didn't really want an audience for what I had to tell Rhys.
Rhys turned his head to face me. “What is it? You can tell me anything.” He stuck a hand out under the sheets and searched for mine. I gave it to him willingly.
“I never actually got to be there for Caleb's birth,” I confessed.
He frowned, trying to make sense of what I was telling him.
“It's because... I kind of sort of maybe fainted in the delivery room when Nathan was born.”
Rhys' eyes grew so wide that I was starting to doubt this had been a good moment to tell him that—
until he burst out laughing. “You fainted? Really?” With his free hand, he wiped at his eyes.
“I was eighteen! I had really no idea what I was in for.”
“And then what? You didn't dare try again?” Rhys calmed down a little bit, returning his hand to his belly.
“No, I wanted to try again when Caleb was born. Honestly, I spent a whole month mentally preparing for the experience... and then Laura basically kicked me out of the room when it was time. She didn't trust me to stay calm. I'm pretty sure she didn't appreciate having the spotlight stolen from her when Nathan was born.”
“I can see that.” Rhys took a shallow breath that had me hoping they would give him something for the pain soon. “You think you're ready for it this time?”
“I know I am,” I said with all the confidence I could muster. “I want to be. I want to be here for you.
And your baby.”
Rhys' mouth opened and closed again, as if he wanted to say something but didn't quite know how.
“It's...” he finally started only for a contraction to take the wind out of his lungs. His face contorted and I squeezed his hand.
“Breathe,” I said, kissing the side of his face. “It's going to be over soon, and then you'll have a beautiful baby.”
